Just past the hour of Yin, Song Wan rose to prepare her makeup for the palace audience with the Emperor.

“Your hairdressing skills are the best—there’s no need to exert yourself so much.”

Song Wan stood up. Seeing that Lv Zhu hadn’t slept all night and had been pestering Xiang Cao to practice styling her hair, she couldn’t help but feel distressed.

Lv Zhu smiled. “This servant has been away from hairdressing for too long. My skills have deteriorated more than a little. Fortunately, Xiang Cao was here tonight to help this servant regain some feeling for it.”

As she spoke, Lv Zhu used a white jade spoon to scoop a drop of jasmine fragrance oil and dotted it between her wrists. She gently rubbed until it released its fragrance, then lifted Song Wan’s hair and carefully styled it.

“This servant has chosen the Chaoyun Proximate Fragrance style for Miss. Properly speaking, one should wear the Peony style when entering the palace, but our household’s dowry doesn’t have matching hair ornaments and jewelry—we really can’t support that wealthy appearance.”

“Though Old Madam and Madam sent several sets, they have wealth in abundance but lack youthful vitality.”

Song Wan half-closed her eyes, somewhat drowsy. “Good Lv Zhu, I’ll leave it to your judgment.”

She knew Lv Zhu was in a difficult position.

The Marquis household was currently spending beyond its means. Most of the jewelry and ornaments Old Madam and Madam Jiang sent were from their own dowries. Though valuable, they ultimately weren’t in the newest styles, and the colors and designs weren’t quite suitable for her.

Moreover, she had married into the Marquis household with the status of a prospective widow. Her dowry not only lacked jewelry, ornaments, rouge, and powder, but didn’t even include fabric with any color.

Properly speaking, when Jiang Xingjian returned to the capital, the Song household should have sent her a new dowry, but with her father and brothers at the mountain villa avoiding summer heat with the Emperor, this matter had been delayed.

“Miss, please see if this is acceptable?”

Lv Zhu gently called to Song Wan. Song Wan raised her head and felt somewhat unfamiliar looking at herself in the bronze mirror.

“After wearing a plain bun for six years, suddenly wearing a head full of hairpins feels rather uncomfortable.”

The young lady in the mirror, set off by the golden begonia flower-threaded hair ornaments and ruby pomegranate kingfisher-adorned hairpins, appeared extraordinarily beautiful and delicate beyond compare. Her skin was whiter than snow and as smooth as cream. Now with just slight adornment, she made the room full of peonies and herbaceous peonies lose their color.

Song Wan pressed her lips together, her eyes curving to reveal a slightly restrained smile.

“Miss is truly beautiful.”

Heng Zhi and Heng Wu brought clothes into the room. Upon seeing the made-up Song Wan, they were stunned for a moment.

For her outfit, Song Wan chose a crimson dress embroidered with silver and jade-cloud-pattern rainbow skirt. She could barely be considered newly married, so wearing red was fitting.

By the time her entire outfit was properly arranged, the sky had gradually brightened.

Jiang Xingjian waited in the courtyard. Today he also wore crimson. As Song Wan gracefully approached with Heng Zhi’s support, the two standing together truly gave the impression of a heaven-made match, naturally well-suited.

“Madam, please.”

Jiang Xingjian lifted the curtain of the emerald brocade sedan chair in the courtyard. After bowing, Song Wan sat inside. Before lowering the curtain, she saw that from behind Jiang Xingjian’s ear to his neck was flushed crimson.

Song Wan pressed her lips together, her face showing hints of bashfulness.

Four matrons carried the sedan chair to outside the hanging flower gate, where there was another empty sedan prepared for the accompanying maids. After Heng Zhi and Heng Wu sat inside, the four matrons carrying the sedan withdrew, and eight other young manservants with proper features and nimble legs came from elsewhere.

When the sedan reached the side gate of the Marquis household, the household matrons held up blue gauze screens to form a gauze wall. Only then did Heng Zhi and Heng Wu exit the sedan to help Song Wan board the carriage.

Jiang Xingjian sat in the carriage, extending his hand to help Song Wan up.

Song Wan’s face flushed slightly as she gently placed her hand in the man’s palm.

The space inside the carriage was cramped, and both wore cumbersome clothing. Unable to fully extend their bodies, their knees inevitably touched.

Jiang Xingjian only felt today’s weather was stifling. Before long, beads of sweat appeared on his face. He lifted a corner of the soft gauze curtain seeking to catch a breath of air.

Song Wan’s eyelashes trembled slightly. Her palms resting on her knees grew somewhat hot from nervousness.

The palace entry procedures were complex. The two waited at the palace gate quite early. When the Emperor’s oral decree arrived, Jiang Xingjian felt his inner garment was nearly soaked through.

When dismounting from the carriage, he reached out to receive Song Wan. Their palms pressed together, the heat scorching. Both were burned so intensely they simultaneously released their grip.

“Madam…”

Jiang Xingjian’s throat tightened. He quickly cleared his throat to relieve the awkwardness.

Song Wan was still in the carriage and hadn’t descended. Seeing this, Heng Zhi wanted to step forward to help, but Jiang Xingjian was faster. With one hand he grasped Song Wan’s slender waist and half-carried her down from the carriage.

The two had never been this intimate before. The young lady’s body carried a rich fragrance—light floral notes mingling with the man’s ambergris cold scent, creating a rather intoxicating atmosphere.

As Song Wan’s feet touched the ground, Jiang Xingjian immediately withdrew his hands.

Heng Zhi looked up to see her young miss and young master appearing as if they had walked through a steam basket. Both were flushed from head to toe with crimson color, and her young miss’s earlobes looked as if they might drip blood.

Jiang Xingjian had not yet inherited his title and was merely a commoner. That the Emperor summoned the two into the palace was mostly an act of consideration for his subjects. After briefly asking a few questions about the events of that day and bestowing some gold, silver, and jewels as slight consolation, he went to handle governmental affairs.

Thus, Jiang Xingjian and Song Wan first went to Consort Yun’s Changxin Palace.

In Changxin Palace, Song Yuning shed a stream of hot tears the moment she saw Song Wan.

“I pay respects to Consort Yun…”

“Wan’er, rise quickly. Your aunt cannot bear to see you perform such formal courtesies.”

Consort Yun descended from the platform in two or three steps and embraced Song Wan, continuously stroking her back.

She was seven years older than Song Wan. Though called aunt, their relationship was like mother and daughter. Song Wan had been well-behaved and sensible as a child. She was so delighted that she kept the girl in her own courtyard to raise.

But since Song Wan married into the Marquis household, the two hadn’t seen each other for six years.

Song Yuning held Song Wan tightly, her voice choked with emotion.

As the aunt and niece intimately reminisced, Jiang Xingjian accompanied them from the side. It wasn’t until Song Yuning worried that Song Wan would cry and ruin her makeup that she stopped mentioning sad matters.

“Look quickly at what your aunt has prepared for you.”

The female official beside Consort Yun announced outward. Before long, over a dozen eunuchs filed in. Six or seven half-person-height chests were carried inside. Song Yuning opened them one by one—inside were all jewelry, fabric, and other items she had saved for Song Wan over these years.

“In the past, whenever I saw these things, I wanted to save them for you. Originally I thought even if they couldn’t be used, later they would still be good…”

Her words cut off abruptly as they left her mouth, but Jiang Xingjian understood Consort Yun’s meaning—these things were what she had prepared for Song Wan’s eventual burial.

“Now it’s good—your aunt’s heartfelt intentions won’t be wasted.”

Song Wan tried to decline, but Consort Yun was quite insistent. “These are nothing. Your aunt has a truly good thing to give you two.”

Consort Yun said, “I specially requested this from Daoist Er Huan. When you return to the Marquis household, hang it in your room for good luck.”

Song Wan received a painting from the female official’s hands. Seeing Consort Yun tell her to open it and look, she assumed it was some famous master’s work and opened it without any precaution.

Jiang Xingjian stood to the side helping her support the scroll. When they saw the painting’s content, both their faces turned red simultaneously.

The painting showed a pair of golden boy and jade maiden. The golden boy held a bright red peach, the jade maiden grasped lotus leaves and flowers. The two leaned on each other most delightfully. In terms of painting technique, the figures’ expressions were naive and endearing, both form and spirit perfectly captured—clearly a work that could be passed down through the family for generations.

Only this particular image…

Song Wan hastily closed the painting, forgetting that Jiang Xingjian’s hand still supported the bottom scroll. For a moment she nearly tore the artwork.

Seeing this, Jiang Xingjian unhurriedly grasped Song Wan’s hand. After silently comforting her, he then put away the He-He Twin Immortals painting in his hand.

The He-He Twin Immortals painting was an image that must be venerated on the wedding night. It signified joyful harmony and also meant continuous prosperity and many children bringing blessings.

Jiang Xingjian held the He-He Twin Immortals painting in his hand, suddenly feeling an itch in his throat.